county. he scored a major victory in 2008 by becoming the first democrat to carry the state's second largest county since 1964. peggy fox has more from the rally in woodbridge. >> our president, the president, barack obama. >> a crowd of about 6,000 democrats gave president obama a big warm welcome. they were thrilled to see him in person. >> i loved it. i thought it was terrific. >> the president started with a nod to the venue. the potomac nationals baseball stadium and the team they are named after. >> i want to congratulate the washington nationals for bringing playoff baseball to d.c. >> then the candidate got down to business. blasting mitt romney again for that remark about 47% of the population being dependent on government. >> i don't see a lot of victims in this crowd today. i see hard work in virginia. >> one thing that got everybody excited was his rebuttal to mitt romney's latest attack. >> my opponent got excited.

he stood up in a rally. proudly declared, i'll get the job done from the inside. what kind of inside job is he talking about? >> mr. obama said when he said you can't change washington from the inside, he was talking about the voters who elected the lawmakers to make changes. >> you're the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and pledged allegiance to our flag, is no longer going to be deported from the only country she knows. you're the reason why an outstanding soldier will be kicked out of your military. >> crowd ate it up. >> we all have to work together. if we don't, we can't fix anything. >> in woodbridge, peggy fox, 9news now. >> president obama has pulled ahead in another key measure of the campaign strength. figures show mr. obama has more than $88 million to spend in his campaign's final weeks

while mr. romney has just over $50 million. a plane carrying mitt romney's wife, ann, had to make an emergency landing in denver this afternoon. the fire department says there was a small fire in the cockpit and the plane ended up filling with smoke. this is from a photo campaign press secretary tweeted out. the plane landed safely, nobody was hurt and the romney's were able to speak shortly after that emergency landing. mitt romney is releasing his 2011 tax return. figures show the republican presidential hopeful earned almost $13.7 million last year and paid more than $1.9 million in taxes. that is an effective tax rate of 14.1%. romney paid about $3 million in federal income tax in 2010. critics including president obama are urging romney for the last dozen years, but refusing to do so. >> romney held a campaign rally in las vegas. portraying himself as a candidate who champions the entrepreneur. and he attacked president obama

as the candidate for big government. intrusive government. >> i'm convinced that the path he put us on is the path to europe, or i jokingly say to california. and i don't want to go there. that's not working there. i don't want to have it come here. i don't want to have a government getting bigger and bigger, more intrusive, telling us what kind of health insurance we have to have. i don't want to have a government that becomes so large that it smothers the american dream. i don't want to have a government -- >> romney promised that if he is elected, he'll work to create 12 million jobs across the nation. >> just a reminder, absentee voting starts in virginia today. early voting starts in maryland on october 27. now if you need to apply for an absentee ballot, the deadline to apply is october 30. early voting starts in the district on october 22. members of the house wrapped up an eight day session today and headed home. although they passed a bill to keep the government running through the end of the year, they left behind some important

business, too. unfinished business. for example, an agreement on legislation that will avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. that is the combination of big spending cuts and the end of those bush tax cuts that many economists say could push the economy over a cliff and into another recession. an empty chair hanging from a tree in austin, texas, is sparking a first amendment debate. the homeowner says he modeled his action in his front yard over clint eastwood's speech. some members of the community say they are outraged over the move while others say bud johnson is simply expressing his first amendment rights. either way, he says the display is not meant to symbolize the lynching and he is not a racist. >> it has no other meaning. >> so what? what's wrong with it? >> my first reaction is that the constitution does protect free speech. it's a first amendment right. it's a part of freedom of

expression. >> following the uproar, johnson took down the chair. the secret service says it looks into the incident and determined there was no threat to the president. the white supremacyst group planning on marching in southeast tomorrow. their plan to go from lincoln park to the west lawn of the u.s. capital. surae. >> you know, residents are answering with a counterrally. but the area nation says they are trying to shed light on the atrocities of white farmers in south africa. they plan to have 20 to 25 people in their demonstration and it will be a peaceful march. >> welcome. >> morris calls himself the world leader of the hate group, area nations. >> it must be met with equal or greater terror. hopefully that will be the case. >> despite online sermons titled the righteousness of hate and teach them war, he expects the peaceful march in the district. i spoke with him by phone.

>> what we're coming to washington, d.c. for this weekend is a righteous cause. we're coming to shine a light on a very dark situation for people in south africa. >> we are living in 2012 and still having white supremacy groups march. that's not cool. >> residents on the hill are not too happy the march is happening in their neighborhood. and so, they planned a counterdemonstration, posting these signs throughout the area. >> i will let my voice and presence be known. >> all colors and creeds meet tomorrow. >> there are counterprotests taking place. these people are essentially launching a protest in favor of murder and genocide. >> but residents say it's not the topic, but what the group stands for. >> legally, they have a right, but it's unfortunate that they are going to be here. >> they can disagree with our politics. this is the united states of america. we have a right to freedom of

religion, freedom of expression. >> the group is head quartered in louisiana. pastor gulette doesn't plan on being at the rally, but directed two dozen of his people to participate. you can expect u.s. park police and u.s. capitol police will be there watching very closely. >> freedom of expression on both sides as long as it stays peaceful. >> i will be there looking and watching. >> we'll have more on that tomorrow night on the news. >> thanks. lesli. >> some african american pastors have come out fiercefully against the drive to legalize same-sex marriage. but today, some pastors endorse the idea. and bruce leshan reports they were met by a group that just is adamantly opposes it. >> i'm bruce leshan. two different coalitions of african american pastors today took two very different and very public stances on same-sex marriage. >> should be put out of office.

>> surrounded by clergy from across the south, the founder of the coalition of african american pastors announced a nationwide campaign against the president. >> i think same sex couples should be able to get married. >> and against same-sex marriage. >> i want the democratic party to know you don't own us. >> but owens biblical critique of gay marriage is far from unanimous. >> another coalition of pastors from maryland and across the country -- >> this is an issue about civil rights. >> announce their support for marriage equality. >> you cannot be for civil rights for african americans. but not for gays and lesbians. >> polls suggest that maryland could end up being the first state in the whole country to approve same-sex marriage at the ballot box. in d.c., bruce leshan, 9news now. >> critics say gay marriage opponent, reverend owens is a long-time republican and he

admits that an antisame-sex union group called the national organization for marriage has been paying his salary. there could be turbulence in the forecast. erica has the latest. >> we'll see that threat for showers and thunderstorms coming into the forecast around this time tomorrow. in the meantime, it is just gorgeous out here. temperatures are nice and comfortable. the humidity is still bearable, but we are going see an uptick in humidity as we head into tomorrow. a look at your allergy update. we are in the green zone for trees, but you know what? we are looking at an increase in pollen because we've had this mild weather and it's been dry for a few days. of course we had all those thunderstorms on tuesday. moderate levels of just about everything right now in that allergy update. your almanac for today, we got up to 80 degrees. above average and our low temperature was 59. so that's right around on target for where we should be this time of year.

tomorrow will be even warmer than it was today. but then a big cooldown is in the seven-day forecast. i'll tell you more about that coming up in just a little bit. back to you. >> thanks, erica. coming up at 7:00, new information on the man mauled by a tiger today at the zoo. >> coming up in this half hour, we're getting our best look yet at the panda cub at the national zoo. plus, unfriendly skies for american airlines and its pilots. we're looking at the impact on travelers like you.

a 5 1/2 hour situation. the siege began when 22-year- old kline saxton took a man hostage on the 16th floor of a building downtown. he threatened he had explosives. while inside the building, saxton posted on facebook he recently lost everything and st a few hours later, negotiators convinced him to surrender. police say it's unclear why he chose the building or selected the hostage or if he even knew him. american airlines is locked in a bitter dispute with its pilots and causing massive delays. cbs news reports more than 500 flights failed to reach their destination on time yesterday. 500. in august, the on time arrival rate was 74%.

it is down to 54% this month. the head of the pilot's union denied that it is causing the delays intentionally. >> you are seeing the resultover what happens to the operation when you have a huge employee grouthat is very unhappy. our pilots are operating without the protections and the benefit of a contract. you have a lot of workers out there. it's not limited to just the pilots that are uncertain about the feature of this airline and they are terribly unhappy. >> flight attendants and ground crews with american sign their contract with management, but the pilot's union overwelmingly rejected the deal. experts say american airlines needs to cut a billion dollars in costs to emerge from bankruptcy and get a labor agreement in play. >> new problems on the newly rehabbed reflecting pools. the national park service is treating the pools water system because of an algae problem. the park service is working closely with engineers and the quality of the water is

improving. after a two-year multimillion dollar rehabilitation project. >> still to come on 9news on this friday. one last victory lap for space shuttle endeavor. we'll head over to the golden state for that.

the shuttle endeavour lifted off on its final flight today on the back of a specially outfitted 747. look familiar, everybody? the orbiter made several low passes over landmarks in california. it was carried north for a fly

by of the golden gate bridge in san francisco. i bet that was a sight. hours later, it was over the hollywood sign and other landmarks in southern california. >> you know, it's the end of an era. the kids are going to look at her and be inspired of what people can do. wow, i can't believe people built something like that. >> the shuttle's voyage to l.a. didn't come without controversy. more than 400 trees were cut down so it could be towed to its new home. city officials say a thousand new trees will be planted in their place. and there's news about washington's other star attraction. the new panda at the national zoo. officials say they got the best look yet at the five day old cub. still really tiny. got to really look. video from the panda cam shows it being pal lanced atop her arm. the cub squirms and vocalizes while being groomed. it caught zoo officials by surprise when it was born last sunday night. we don't know he or she baby

panda cub. >> it's hard to tell that early on. >> teeny little thing. very much hidden. i'm loving this day. this is beautiful. >> it was a beautiful day and tomorrow we actually officially turn the calendar over to fall. but it will feel like summer for one more day. and then we're going to see those temperatures sliding back down as we head into sunday. but for the meantime, if you wanted some more summer-like weather, that's what we have for you as we take a look at the michael and son weather cam. under mostly sunny skies. the dew point has increased just in the amount of time that we have been on the air. it has gone up to 61 degrees with that wind out of the south at 11 miles per hour. bringing in that more humid air mass. right now around the region, it is 79 degrees in leesburg. 73 degrees in winchester and 77 in culpeper. it is 75 in baltimore and in annapolis right now. those dew points will continue to rise through the 60s as we head into tomorrow. but for now, it feels like

summer. a cold front is on the way. that will bring an end to the summer-like feel. as the cold front clashes with the air mass, we'll see showers and storms developing during the afternoon and evening on saturday. they'll move through from west to east. so if you live along the chesapeake, you'll see them later than the folks who live in the blue ridge. cooler and breezy behind that front for all of us on sunday. and here's a look at satellite and radar. you can see that front on the way. it's going to bring us the threat for showers and storms as early as around 5:00, maybe 6:00 as we head into tomorrow. and a quick look at future cast where you are still in the clear as of saturday morning, but then those showers start to develop by dinner time and we could even have some thunderstorms, maybe some strong storms with gusty winds in that forecast on saturday evening. but for most of us, it won't be a big event. just keep in mind, you might need that umbrella as we head into tomorrow. overnight tonight, mostly clear

and not as cool. it will be a bit more humid and then tomorrow, mostly sunny in the morning. it will start to feel more humid as early as tomorrow morning with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. a southeast wind continuing to bring in that more humid air mass and a quick look at your beltway highs. 84 degrees in arlington and springfield tomorrow. 83 in rockville. it will be 85 downtown in d.c. and also in andrews air force base area. over the next three days, it will be code yellow tomorrow because we could see some of those thunderstorms developing, but for the most part, it's not going to be a big deal for us. breezy and cooler weather moves in on sunday. sticks with us on monday. a high of only 70 degrees with lots of sunshine. it will feel like fall as we head into sunday and the redskins game, the weather looks great. just a little on the breezy side. >> great, great time to be a baseball fan. >> folks experience this in 2005. it is awesome to be a nats fan.

the nats are rolling their way into the playoffs. the push is sweet for one player in particular. ryan zimmerman. has been around for a lot of doom and gloom. he is smiling now. bad news for redskins receiver trying to get right and terps have a sign, tomorrow, don't they ever. sports is next.

and now, 9sports with dave

owen. >> there were hugs, a lot of picture taking and tears. those were just the fans. nats fans delirious about the fact their team was going to the playoffs. nats fans deserve a good cry, especially those that stuck through this team through thick and thin. speaking of sticking with it, ryan zimmerman has done just that. i mean the face of the franchise has been in d.c. ever since the team moved back from montreal. he has seen his share of l's. now he gets to relish in the w. >> not just one guy. it doesn't matter about me. the whole team, the whole organization, the whole city and everyone involved with this team. >> it is huge. especially for a guy like ryan zimmerman who has been here. he has been very low. he has been in plays place. he had to ride all that out until this year. so we are running games for him now. >> good for the man. west virginia and maryland border one another, but the fortunes of their programs are

worlds apart. the terps offense is a work in progress and seems allergic to scoring. they don't seem to have that problem. west virginia puts it on and they put it on you a lot. they are averaging 55 points per game. fourth best in the nation. this rivalry is one sided. maryland hasn't beaten west virginia since 2003. most prognosticators believe this one could end up very one sided in the favor of the eighth ranked mownties tomorrow. don't tell maryland that. >> i hear it's a big rivalry. last year we had a tough one. it was a big game for them. i look forward to it. >> top team, top ten team. >> it will be huge. the rivals, they don't like us and they don't like them. >> all right, not looking good for the redskins. he is trying to get on the good foot. he bruised his foot in week

one. it is looking doubtful. finally tonight, our high school game of the week. frederick county, frederick city, it's a big one. 12,000 of you voted. middletown versus frederick. we are looking forward to that. >> i'm excited. >> got to love friday night football. you guys have game on. >> it's game on this whole week in cincinnati. bengals on sunday. >> big stuff and a good weekend for it. >> yeah, absolutely. we're going to see the showers and storms tomorrow, but after that, it's going to feel like fall, cooler, breezy, lots of sunshine. temperatures right around 70 degrees. i got to tell you, this is some of my favorite weather. starting on sunday. >> who feels a tailgate coming on? >> i love it. that's all for 9news now at 6:00. stay with wusa9 for the cbs evening news and lesli is back at 7:00 sitting in for derek with our area's only local newscast and we are always on at wusa9.com. have a great weekend, everybody.

>> pelley: tonight, mitt romney works to regain momentum. today, he released his tax returns. jan crawford has the numbers, and we ask him the question that some in his own party are asking. >asking. a lot of republicans would like to know a lot of your donors would like to know how do you turn this thing around? more riots over that american-made film that mocks islam. but this time, many have died. charlie d'agata is on the story. a space shuttle flies for the last time. bill whitaker is with the crowds watching the sky and history. and steve hartman is on the road where drivers actually enjoy getting a ticket from this cop. >> never so happy to get a ticket in my life.

captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> pelley: good evening. mitt romney, one of the wealthiest men ever to run for president, released a tax return today for 2011. in its nearly 400 pages, we learned that he made a lot of money on his investments, but he paid a tax rate that would be the envy of many middle-class families. that's because income from investments is taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income. we also find that romneys give away quite a lot. jan crawford is with the campaign in leavin las vegas to. jan. >> reporter: scott, democrats have made romney's taxes a campaign issue since january when he released his 2010 returns and an estimate for 2011. now, he says these two years are all he's releasing, that is it, but he did provide a little more information today about his tax rate to counter his critics. shortly after romney arrived in

nevada, his 2011 tax returns went online. totaling nearly 380 pages, they show romney made $13.7 million last year, almost all of it from investments. he made $1.9 million in federal taxes. that's an effective tax rate averaging 14.1%. beginning with the republican primaries, critics have called on him to release more returns. president obama, for example, released 12 years. romney's answer today was to release a summary by the accounting firm price, waterhouse coopers about his tax rates paid over a 20-year period. the accounting firm said romney owed and paid taxes every year with an average tax rate of 20.2%. romney's tax rate last year was about a third less than what most top earners pay. romney pays that lower rate because most of his income is from profits and dividends which under federal law is taxed at 15%. and romney gave a high amount of his income to charity. in 2011 he gave $4 million, or

nearly 30%, of his income but romney didn't take full advantage of his charitable deductions because it would have lowered his tax rates too much and he was on the record saying his rateses have always been above 13%. now, the campaign also released romney's medical record today. his doctor said he's in excellent health, appears younger than a man his age. his heart rate is actually 40 beats a minute. like many men his age he takes a baby aspirin daily and medicine for cholesterol. >> pelley: president and mrs. obama released their tax returns earlier this year. they earned more than $789,000 last year, and paid about $162,000 in federal taxes. that's a tax rate of 20.5%. because a lot of their income comes from a paycheck. the romney campaign is work to get back on track after a week when the governor was criticized for telling an audience at a fund-raiser that he didn't worry

about americans who are dependent on government. yesterday, in an interview for "60 minutes," we asked him about that and we asked about the polls. they show the race is tied nationally. but they also show mr. romney is slipping behind in many swing states that will decide the election. we caught up with him on board his campaign plane. you are slipping in the polls at this moment. a lot of republicans are concerned about this campaign. you bill yourself as a turnaround artist. how are you going to turn this campaign around? >> actually, we're tied in the polls. we're all within a margin of error. we bounce around week to week, day to day. there are some days we're up. there are some days we're down. we go forward with my message that this is a time to reinvigorate the american economy, now the by expanding government and raising taxes on people but instead by making sure government encourages entrepreneurship and innovation and gets the private sector hiring again.

>> pelley: governor i appreciate your message very much but that wasn't precisely the question. you're the c.e.o. of this campaign. a lot of republicans would like to know, a lot of your donors would like to know how do you turn this thing around? you've got a little more than six weeks. what do you do? >> well, it doesn't need a turnaround. we've got a campaign which is tied with an incumbent president of the united states. >> pelley: as you know, a lot of people were concerned about the video of the fund raisers in which you talked about the 47% of the american people who don't pay taxes. peggy noonan, a very well-known conservative columnist, said that it was san an example of this campaign being incompetent. and i wonder if any of that criticism gets through to you, and whether you're concerned about it at all, whether it concerns-- >> that's not the campaign. that was me. >> pelley: you are the campaign. >> i have a very effective campaign that's doing a very good job but nothing everything i say is elegant. and i want to make it very clear. i want to help 100% of the

american people. >> pelley: this sunday on "60 minutes," we will devote the entire hour to both candidates for president to hear where they would like to take the nation. steve kroft will speak to president obama. that's this sunday on "60 minutes." well, the president has turned that 47% comment into something of a theme on the campaign trail. and nancy cordes is at the white house tonight. nancy. >> reporter: scott, at a rally in virginia today, the president brought up those 47% comment by governor romney again. they're becoming a fixture of his campaign message. the president also cleaned up some of his own inelegant comment after telling univision yesterday that you can't change washington from the inside, a remark that governor romney, naturally, picked up on right away. >> now, for some reason my opponent got really excited. he rewrote his speech real quick. he set up a rally, proudly declared-- "i'll get the job done from the inside."

( laughter ) what kind of inside job is he talking about? ( applause ) is it the job of rubber stamping the top-down, "you're on your own" academy of the republican congress? is it it is, woe don't want it. >> reporter: mr. obama also told the crowd is what he meant to say yesterday is you can't change washington just from the inside, that you need buy-in from the american public and that americans need to be pushing for change from the outside, too, scott. >> pelley: parsing every word. nancy, thank you very much. as we said, the polls show that the race is tight, but president obama is pulling ahead in fund-raising. wyatt andrews has been looking into that for us. >> thank you so much! >> reporter: today it was mitt romney in las vegas. yesterday it was the president in tampa. two candidates visiting swing

states but on an urgent quest for money, ask the race for cash last month favored the president. according to federal election reportes, obama campaign took in almost $85 million in august, its best month of the year, while the romney campaign collected $67 million, also the campaign's best month. in another crucial category, cash in the bank, again, the president held a lead, $89 million compared to mitt romney's $35 million. one of the ways the cash advantage has already helped the president is this-- >> i'm barack obama, and i approve this message. >> reporter: mr. obama has vastly outspent mitt romney on television ads written and controlled by the campaign. 236 million on ads for the president, 92 million for romney. but romney has an edge when the unlimited spending by super pacs is factord in. >> obama has made a lot of bad decisions.

>> reporter: romney has relied heavily on $205 million worth of tv ads made by conservative and pro-romney super pacs. it's a tactical decision that leaves romney's message in the hands of others but frees his campaign to spend in other areas like voter identification and turnout. another romney advantage is the war chest he's helped build at the republican national committee, $76 million, 10 times more than the democrats. it's a reserve fund the r.n.c. can spend for any reason, including direct, last-minute help for romney. these numbers also reveal that romney excels at asking a relatively small pool of donors for the maximum individual donation of $5,000 each. but the president's take last month, scott, came from more than a million donors giving an average of $58 each. >> pelley: wyatt, thank you. a plane carrying ann romney today was forced to make an emergency landing in denver when pilots noticed smoke in the

cockpit. mrs. romney is campaigning for her husband. firefighters responded and founded smoke apparently came from an electrical fire. no one was hurt. it's friday, of course, the muslim sabbath, and anger spilled out of mosques and into the streets today. more deadly protests over that american-made internet movie that ridicules islam. in pakistan, the protest turned deadly, but over the border in afghanistan, where our troops are fighting, the government made sure that didn't happen. charlie d'agata has more about all of this from kabul, afghanistan, tonight. charlie. >> reporter: scott, two neighboring countries, both facing a backlash against this american-made film but with two very different outcomes. here in afghanistan, the government was able to keep a lid on demonstrations and things were relatively quiet here. while in pakistan, things quickly got out of control. in the northwest city of

peshawar, thousands armed with clubs and sticks, charged through the streets destroying property and battling riot police. with no u.s. targets to attack, protesters took their anger out on the next best thing-- movie theaters that show western-influenced films. the violence was worse in the southern city of karachi, where at least 12 were killed and over 80 wounded with running gun battles between protesters and security forces. in the capital islamabad, police stopped demonstrators just before they reached the u.s. embassy. to try and discourage the violence, the u.s. embassy spent $70,000 on an ad that aired on pakistani television today. it didn't seem to do much good. >> the united states government had absolutely nothing to do with this video. we absolutely reject its cop tenits contentand message. >> reporter: but the message

coming from the pakistani government was less clear. today was declared a national holiday, giving millions a day off work, and actively encouraging them to take part in the protests. at the same time, the pakistani government cut off cell phone service, making it harder for people to organize demonstrations. it's been two weeks now since the controversy erupted over that anti-islamic film, but in pakistan, the rage is still growing. >> pelley: charlie, you mentioned that the afghans were able to keep a lid on these protests today. how did they manage that? >> reporter: scott, part of it may have to do with the fact that they've been more proactive. a large demonstration that got out of hand here a few days ago was quickly brought to an end by a massive police force, and we spoke to afghan officials. we put exactly that question to them. they said they put the word out to religious leaders to tell their followers not to demonstrate in large numbers and take it to the streets. >> pelley: charlie, thank you.

late today, a man jumped from a zoo monorail and was smalled by a tiger. and "endeavour" makes a final bow over california. when the cbs evening news continues. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure.

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expected to be cast before election day, and in colorado, expected to be cast before election day, and in colorado, 80% may vote early. we asked dean reynolds to tell us more. >> reporter: iowa is the first battleground state where early voting will take place. the printing presses are working overtime to supply ballots to voters asking them. iowans can begin casting these ballots by mail or in person on september 27. >> i have to tell you, iowa, early voting starts in about a week. >> get engaged. get engaged so you can start to vote early. >> reporter: nationally, the percentage of early voting has increased from 16% in 2000 to 33% in 200ate. this year, the number could go as high as 40%. matt strawn is former chairman of the iowa republican party. >> any time you have up to 40% of your electorate casting a vote before election day, it changes the way you communicate

with voters. >> would you be interested in voting early in this election? >> reporter: and a republican field office near des moines, strawn says early voting helps campaigns improve their focus. >> well, anybody that tells one of our volunteers they're supporting mitt romney, you bet you, we want that vote cast as soon as possible to make sure we can start working on those other iowans who haven't made their decisions yet. >> reporter: democrats are following a similar strategy. >> are you guys planning on voting early in this election? >> reporter: sue dvorsky chairs the state democrats. does it allow you to streamline your message at those people in the middle? >> i think that's a functional and practical result of it. >> reporter: do you think participation will be higher this time around than in 2008? >> all the signs point to it. >> reporter: as of thursday in iowa, 103,000 democrats requested early vote ballotes, compared to 17,000 republicans. but early voting is not always a great guide. back in 2004, scott, john kerry

received more early votes from iowa than george w. bush, but bush wound up winning the state by 10,000 votes when all the votes were counted. >> pelley: dean, thank you. in new york, a man was mauled by a tiger today at the bronx zoo. the 25-year-old intentionally jumped from a train and scaled a fence to enter the enclosure. workers scared the t ger away but the man lost a leg. the space shuttle "endeavour" was a sight to see today, and that's next. hey honey, back feels better, little dancing tonight, you and me? hey boy, you wanna go for a walk? dr. scholl's pro inserts with shock guard technology relieve different types of lower body pain by treating at the source so you're a whole new you. where is everybody? that's not your dad. go pro with dr. scholl's.

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>> pelley: nasa's space shuttle program may be history, but the surviving orbitors are proving very popular. today, "endeavour," the youngest shuttle in the fleet, became the last to fly. folks all over california saw quite a show, and bill whitaker was there. >> reporter: "endeavour" took off on its final flight from a runway at california's edwards air force base, not far from where it was built, bolted atop a jumbo jet, the shuttle took a victory lap over the state where it was born and will retire. up and down the state, throngs of californians came out for this last chance to see a shuttle airborne. >> i think when you're 65 and on the porch at home, this is one of the things you'll remember. >> reporter: they packed into l.a.'s griffith observatory, got a seat on rooftops, on the hollywood sign. "endeavour" did not disappoint.

as the scientific and cultural icon flew by iconic california sitees, tweets and instagrams followed every mile. it arrived in l.a. in style. julia mason was speechless. >> i have a lump in my throat. outside of my birth, there was nothing more historical for me. >> reporter: traffic on l.a. freeways stopped. the city can be blase about stars, but the starship headed for retirement in l.a. science center thrilled millions. >> it's wonderful! >> completely the best day of my life. also my parents and it was one, big experience for me. >> reporter: actually, he can see it again next month at the california science center. but first, they have to get the shuttle from here at l.a.x., to there, downtown, 12 miles through city streets. bill whitaker, cbs news, el segundo, california. >> pelley: well, here's a switch, steve hartman pulls over a traffic cop.

"on the road" is next d over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country. we hired three thousand people just last year. bp invests more in america than in any other country. in fact, over the last five years, no other energy company has invested more in the us than bp. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. today, our commitment to the gulf, and to america, has never been stronger.

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sheriff's deputy elton simmons. i bet you don't like him already. seeing him there, hiding in the shadows. why can't he go catch some real criminals, you may be thinking. or no wonder he has a record number of complaints. who wouldn't complain about a guy whose sole purpose in life is to ruin your day. by the very nature of the business, all l.a. county traffic cops can expect to get at least a few complaints every year. a lot of them are petty, people just mad because they got a ticket. but regardless, they all get documented and placed in the officer's personnel file. which is why captain pat maxwell was stunned when he started looking through simmons' file. >> i just said that's not possible. >> reporter: although he did see lots of commendations, looking back over the last 20 years, over the last 25,000 traffic stops, captain maxwell couldn't find one complaint, a record, zero. >> i mean, vegas or m.i.t. could not give you the odds of the statistical probability of that. >> reporter: obviously, elton

is doing something right. >> it's got to be something. >> reporter: do you know what it is? >> no. >> reporter: no idea. >> until the captain told him, elton didn't even know he had such a record, let alone how he got it. >> it's how i do it every day. >> reporter: we trade him for a day to see how he does it. the first thing i notice is he has a pitch-perfect mix of authority and diplomacy. >> i don't want to keep pulling you over. >> reporter: with none of the attitude that sometimes comes with a cop. >> sorry. >> that's okay. just be careful, all right. i'm here with you. i'm not up here. one thing i hate to be looked down at. i can't stand it. so i'm not going to look down at you. >> reporter: that's why in lieu of a lecture, he gives most people the benefit of the doubt. >> so it happens. >> reporter: of course they still get the ticket, just not the guilt trip. drivers seem to appreciate that. >> it's not that bad. >> reporter: so much so, by the end, some are downright smitten. >> you know what it is? it's your smile. >> really. >> he's got a great smile. >> reporter: really. >> you're gug ling now. you just got a ticket. >> i got a ticket.

he's a nice guy. un. how can you be mad at that guy? >> reporter: apparently you can't. >> disarming. >> that's it, disarming. >> reporter: time after time, ticket after ticket. >> never so happy to get a ticket in my life. >> reporter: we saw officers can sim melt away a polar ice cap of preconceptions. his boss said there's a lesson in there for hard-nosed traffic cops everywhere. your excuse, "well, i give tickets all day long. i'm going to get complaints." well, that's not true. >> reporter: there is a way. >> there is a way to do, and elton simmons is the way. >> reporter: certainly no complaints here. steve hartman, "on the road" if los angeles. >> pelley: and that's the cbs evening news for tonight. for all of us at cbs news all around the world, i'm scott pelley. i'll see you on sunday on "60 minutes." for a conversation with both candidates for president of the united states. good night.

ca this is 9news now. >> president obama campaigned in the swing state of virginia today. he continued to attack the victim remarks made by mitt romney that went viral last week and rebutted claims made by the gop candidate. peggy fox was at that rally. she has more. >> it was the commonwealth of virginia that elected barack obama. are you ready to do it again? >> senator mark warner warmed up the crowd about 6,000 democrats who received tickets to see the president in person. >> how wonderful. i'm a big supporter. i volunteer every day. >> the president started with a nod to the venue. the potomac nationals baseball stadium and the team they are named after. >> i want to congratulate the washington nationals